Because of You
by elleestJenn
Summary: Unfortunate events in Lynn's life brought her unexpected friendships. As she deals with her past and her present she turns to a certain newsie for help. When she finds out he might not be who she thought, an unexpected newsie is able to help her.
1. Chapter 1

I lost the life I knew because I allowed another to control it. I did eventually regain control but lost the faith of goodness in the human kind.

How is it that our paths crossed? Were we suppose to meet or was it was mere coincidence? How was it that you just happened to be there to help me put one foot in front of other.

It was because of you I regained my life and found meaning again to live it. It was because of you I'll never have to give up.


	2. the alley

Chapter 1: The Alley

"How was your day at the tracks Race?" Jack asked as their paths collided. He just dropped Sarah off from a date that proved to be restless. He wanted to get his mind somewhere else.

"I'm telling you Jack, I don't know why I keep going." Race said as he threw down the last of his cigarette. "I'm going to stop going." He announced with determination. Jack just looked at him.

"No you won't." Jack said. It hadn't been the first time Race declared this. "You'll be back at the tracks by the end of the day tomorrow. You love it too much to give it up." He said as he gave Race a pat on the back.

"You're right Jacky-boy. The tracks are in my blood. But if I don't profit soon it will be over for good."

"Sure Race." Jack said giving him a knowing smile. They walked in silence enjoying the rare moment when New York is silent.

As they walked to the lodging house the peaceful silence was interrupted a voice in the alley came up to.

"Joshua, all I want to do is go home." The girl said. " I have had enough of this." The newsies stopped walking and stood in the shadows. They knew they shouldn't listen but it was hard not to.

"O come on we haven't even gotten to the best part of the night." Her boyfriend said. He wasn't dressed like a newsie but his suit suggested he came from the middle class. He pressed his body against hers and let his hand roam down her body.

"No Joshua." She said. His body moved back slightly not prepared for her push. "I don't want this, I'm done with you having your way." The girl said. "I'm done with it. I just want out."

"What?" he asked in a low tone stepping forward. Her tiny frame was forced further against the wall.

"I don't want to see you anymore." She tried to hold eye contact. There was silence once more.

"Fine." Joshua said after awhile. " If that's what you want then fine. But trust me Lynn." His face was an inch from hers'. "You're going to regret leaving me. And when you realize what you lost don't bother crawling back to me. You'll never find another guy who wants you. Because who wants to be with trash." He stared at her for a moment and turned on his heel. As he left the alleyway the girl let out a huge breath of relief.

Race and Jack just stood in the shadows waiting for somebody to make the next move.

She stood there not knowing what to do next. She pushed herself off the wall and slowly made her way to the opening of the alley. She stopped on the sidewalk and slowly looked around. As she looked to her left and she made eye contact with Race and Jack. Nobody dared to move or speak. Her blonde hair a slight mess and her blue eyes fill with tears but she didn't dare let them break the barriers. She lowered her head and started to make her way the direction Race and Jack had come.

"We should probably get a move on. I suspect Kloppman is going to close the door soon." Jack said break the silence once the girl was out of view.

"You're right Jack. Sleeping on the streets don't sound that good tonight especially after the tracks." Race said trying to lighten the mood. They both head for the lodging house neither one speaking a word the rest of the way. Both mutually agreeing to never bring up the event they had just witnessed.


	3. concealing the truth

Chapter 2: Concealing the truth

When Lynn walked to the front of their building, she see could no light coming from their window. She slowly walked to up the three flights of stairs skipping the floorboards that creaked. No voices could be heard from behind any door as she reached her own. Lynn placed her eye against the door to see if any noise was on the other side. When satisfied she took out the key from her boot and unlocked the door. She opened it slowly as a precaution and a sigh of relief escaped her lips when the moonlight shining through the window showed a deserted living room.

Lynn gently closed the door, being careful to make sure her mother didn't wake to the noise and quietly made her way to her bed located in the corner of the living room. She knew her mother would not be happy once she heard the news. She was relying on them two getting married. She remembered the first day her mother try to dress her up nicely.

"_Lynn, you have to do to this." Her mother said as she pinned Lynn's hair up._

"_But why? I'm only 15. I don't need to be thinking about marriage now." Lynn wanted nothing to with this. _

"_Well you aren't in the position to have that luxury. You need to find someone who will be able to take care of you. Once married he'll be forced to take care me. I am after all your mother." _

As she stared at the blank wall in front of her, she realized it was better for now to let her mom think they were still together.

"She doesn't have to know." She whispered to herself and eyes slowly closed on a hard day.

-The next day-

"Hi Sarah." Lynn said as she took her seat at her station in the back room of the dress shop.

"Hi Lynn." Sarah said. She had brown and brown eye and was about 5'6". She was only other young seamstress at the dress shop with Lynn. The others much older and only worked half days trying to earn the extra income for their families but making sure the household chores were also taken care of.

"So how was your date with Jack?" She asked. Sarah had been dating the newsie leader for a couple of months now but Lynn never actually got to meet him. She only got to see him through the window when he sometimes picked Sarah up after work.

"It was good. We took a walk around Central Park and then he took me home." Sarah said. "But I still can't help but feel like something is missing."

"What do you mean?" Lynn asked as she tired to rip the seam of a skirt.

"I don't know." Sarah said absentmindedly. "I just feel like he's looking for something else that I can't give him. You know?"

"Wait you mean like something something or just something?" Lynn asked.

"You should know not to ask me that. You know I only kiss." Sarah said. Lynn could see her blushing as she tired to hide her face in her hand. "No. Just something." Lynn could see Sarah trying to smile but it wavered. Unfortunately Lynn understood all too well. "Anyways, how are you and Joshua?"

"I broke up with him last night." She said.

"What?" she said with a surprise. She dropped her mending and moved her chair to the opposite side of Lynn's station. "What happened?" she asked quietly. Trying to make sure the other ladies didn't hear.

"You know he's been a jerk so I decided I had enough of it." She said. Trying to make sure the tears wouldn't well up in her eyes. He hadn't been a good boyfriend for the better half of the time they were together but it still hurt Lynn because she did love him at one point. "I'm better off without him." Sarah looked at her and Lynn could tell she wanted ask the question she didn't want to hear. Lynn never told her anything more than he acted like a jerk sometimes.

"How did your mother take it?" She asked. She also knew Lynn's mother's hope that they would marry. But the relationship her mother knew was also a lie. She didn't know the dark reality of it all. Not that she thought her mother would care anyways.

"She doesn't know." Lynn said shortly. "As far as I'm concerned as long as she doesn't find out the better."

"But Lynn. You can't keep this from her forever. When doesn't see him coming around anymore, she's going to know something is up." Sarah said.

"I know. But I can keep peace at least for a little while." She said. "Until I can figure out what to do." she thought to herself.


	4. Poker Night

Chapter 3: Poker Night

"Ah Jacky-boy. Glad you and your boys could finally make it." Spot said as the Manhattan newsies approached the Brooklyn Lodging House an hour early.

"I told you Spot." Jack said as the two spit shook. "I told you Race was going to drag us here early." He said while giving Race a look of annoyance.

"Hey what can I say nothing gets me more excited than a poker game." Race said with a grin on his face. He was more than anxious to start up a game and collect his winnings. Race always had a problem when it came to gambling but everyone knew that. He claimed it was in his blood. It even put the newsie out of the lodging house a few times because he didn't have enough money.

"Well don't get too excited because at the end of the night your money will be mine." Spot said with a smirk pushing off the handrail he had been leaning against.

"Ya we'll see about that." Race said as he entered the lodging house to get the games going. His two friends just gave him a laugh to humor him.

"So Spot, where are all the angels you were talking about yesterday?" Jack asked as he saw five tables set up for poker games and the Brooklyn boys lounging around waiting for the others to come.

"Ah don't worry Jacky-boy, they'll be here in a bit." Spot said as he smirked again. He knew tonight was going to be a fun one. "And my offer still stands Jack. You're more than welcome to one of them. I don't want to see you alone and miserable, it's a party!"

"Once again Spot I have to decline." Jack said. He did consider it though. Things with Sarah weren't that good and was thinking of calling things off. Doing something wrong would give him the perfect reason; he couldn't just call it off without an actual excuse.

The party was a noisy one. Over 100 newsies were packed into the lodging house. Every inch of the house had something going on. Whether it was a game of poker or alcohol or the mere pleasure of opposite genders pleasuring each other. It was no doubt an average poker night in the newsies lodging houses.

"Ah come on Race, I know you could do better than that." Spot said. Race was taking awhile on deciding to call or fold. Spot sat across the table not even bothering to watch his opponent. Two girls sat on either side of his lap occupied most of his time. They would on occasion giggle as he whispered in their ears.

"Call." Race said. Everybody started talking as the two opponents looked at each other. Everyone thought Race would for sure have folded. Not only because the Brooklyn leader was beyond readable but it was also well into the night and they were the only two left.

"Are you sure you want to do that Race?" Spot asked. "Because since I'm nice guy and you're my friend I'll give you a chance if you want to back out."

"Nah. I'm sure Spot. I have a good feeling about this." Race said with a smile as the two looked at each other.

"Alright. You first Race." Spot said as he pushed the two girls off his lap.

Race flipped over his cards to reveal a three of a kind of 9's.

"That's pretty brave of you Race." Spot said. "But I guess your feeling was right." He said as he revealed two fours. He gave him a smile as they both stood up and shook. "Good game Race."

"Spot. Spot!" A newsie said trying to get through the crowd.

"Let him through." The Brooklyn leader said. "What is it Sly?" The newsie reached him and whispered something in his ear. "How long ago?" Spot asked above a whisper.

"About fifteen minutes ago." Sly responded.

"Alright. Thanks Sly." Spot said before turning to Jack. "It looks like we're going to have company in about a minute."

"Harlem?" Jack asked and Spot gave a nod.

"Sly, Hook, Sharp and Shade come with me." Spot said. "You might want to come too Jack." Spot headed towards the front door and pulled his cane out of his belt loop.

"Come on Race. Get your winnings." Jack said to Race as he nodded to Blink and Mush to follow.

As the nine reached the front door Harlem was already waiting.

"What are you doing in Brooklyn Johnny?" Spot demanded to know.

"Well I heard there was a party going on and decided to join the fun. We figured our invitation got lost in the mail or something." Johnny the leader said. He was slightly taller than Spot and just as good looking. But his brown hair and green eyes didn't have the same charm on the girls as Spot's dirty blonde hair and blue eyes did.

"You never got one because you aren't welcomed here." Spot said becoming more alert as the seconds went by. Tensing the muscles in shoulders to make him appear stronger.

"Tsk tsk. Why so hostile Spot?" Johnny asked walking closer to Spot.

"You stop right there Johnny. Turn on back around and get Harlem out of Brooklyn now." Spot said as calm as ever. Both leaders stared at each other. Everyone could feel the tension rising between the two.

"Alright. Alright Spot." Johnny said walking backwards. "But remember you'll regret denying Harlem to join the party."

"I highly doubt that Johnny." Spot said as they all watched the retreating backs of Harlem.

"I wouldn't be too sure of yourself Conlon." Johnny yelled over his shoulder. It was silent for a moment as the nine newsies watched Harlem disappear into the blanket of darkness.

"Sly." Spot called. "Follow them and make sure they're out of Brooklyn. Hook, Sharp and Shade go with him."

"Ya Spot." Sly said as the four took off.

"Well we better get going Spot. It's getting pretty late." Jack said.

"Ya. Alright Jacky-boy." Spot said entering the lodging house. Once all of Manhattan was round up everybody from the different boroughs took Manhattan's lead and decided it was time to take off as well.

"Just give it time Spot." Jack said as he made his way over to the door. "All this will eventually blow over." He said trying to reassure Spot.

"Somehow Jacky-boy I don't think this will." Spot said. "Well have a safe trip and be on the look out."

"Bye Spot." Jack said, as he was the last one to leave. Spot turned to walk up the stairs but was immediately stopped by a brunette with a dangerously low cut dress.

"And how can I help you?" he asked as his eyes roamed her body. His infamous smirk appearing on his lips as she walked down the steps closer to him.

"I think I'm a little lost." She said as she played the collar on his shirt. "And I can't find anybody strong or brave enough help me." As she gave him a playful little pout.

"Well here's your problem. You're asking the wrong boys. They don't know to take care of a women like you." He said stepping up to the same step as her. "But fortunately for you I do." He said as his lips attacked hers.

The Manhattan gang had split up across the Brooklyn Bridge. The boys in the front were in a hurry to get back and while the boys in the back could care less when they got back.

"So how much did you get Race?" Jack asked as he enjoyed the quite night. It had been pretty loud at the Brooklyn house and was glad for a few moments of peace.

"Almost wiped Spot clean of everything he had." Race said with a smile on his face. They continued walking in silence. The darkness was so thick they could barely see anything ahead of them. "Do you hear that Jack?" Race said quietly as he put a hand on his friend's shoulder. They both stood listening.

"No." Jack said. "What was it?" keeping his eyes opened for anyone on the bridge.

"I thought I heard crying." Race said and they stood there for a second longer. "O well." And they continued walking in silence. Jack knew something felt wrong and decided to look back. For a split second he thought he saw the outline of figure huddled next to the rail.

"Hold on Race." Jack whispered as he doubled back. He could see clearer now through the thick blanket of the night. "Are you alright?" he said to the figure, as he got close enough. The figure looked up and Jack could see clearly. He stared into the eyes of the young girl from a week before. Race also realized who the girl was.

"Do you need help?" Race said as he bent down next to her. She just stared at them not answering. "Look, you might not answer us but we're not going to leave till we get some answers."

She just stared between the two and turmoil appeared on her face as she decided what to do.

"I don't need help. I'm fine thank you." She responded quickly.

"Then can we walk you home? It's not safe for such a pretty girl like yourself to be out here alone." Jack said. She just looked at him. She realized who he was. Jack Kelly, Sarah's boyfriend. And the guy who saw her breakup with Joshua.

`"No thank you. I don't even have a home to go to." She said looking away from Jack. Sarah had often talked about how Jack was a sucker for homeless girls. Often offering them a place to stay and unfortunately it was his act of kindness that was putting a strain on their relationship. The girls he helped seemed to think he was their knight in shining armor. She hated to take advantage of him but she had no other choice. Jack and Race looked at each other.

"Well you can stay at the lodging house for newsies if you would like." Jack offered. She nodded her and she moved to get up. Jack offered his hand but she ignored it and three made their way to Manhattan.


	5. Meeting new people

Chapter 4: Meeting new people

Lynn woke up to the gentle touch of somebody shaking her. As she opened her eyes she realized it the guy from last night with the red bandana tied around his neck and the black cowboy hat he wore.

"Hey. Are you awake?" Jack asked her softly. He was trying to hurry because he wanted to get to the distribution center in time. She slowly opened her eyes and quickly sat up and clutched the blanket to her once she realized where she was. Jack jumped back a little because of her quick movement.

"Do you have a job? Do you need to get to work?" he asked growing impatience by the second.

"Umm. No, I don't work on Sundays." Lynn said.

"Ok. We all need to get to work but I'll be back later to talk." Jack said as he turned to leave. She watched him go but stopped just short of the doorway and turned back around. "O by the way. The names Jack Kelly or Cowboy." Jack said as he gave her a smile and walked out of the room.

Lynn sat there for a few hours not really sure what to do. She wasn't lying to Jack when she said didn't work today. Sundays were her only day off. She started looking around the room as the sun began to shine more light in.

"That's odd." Lynn said to herself. She noticed there were only a few bunk beds in the room. "Surely there must be more." She pulled the blanket off herself and as she began walking around. There was a small washroom to the left, one window on the opposite wall and one door just across from her.

Lynn walked to the door and gently turned the knob, not really knowing what could possibly be on the other side. But to her relief it was just a hallway. As she poked her head through the doorframe she noticed one more door on the right and two more to the left. As she stepped out in the hallway she got this odd feeling she wasn't the only one in the building. She quickly looked around her, debating whether to go back in the room or get out.

"It's alright. Nothing is going to hurt you Lynn." She whispered to herself. The one thing she absolutely hated was to be scared by someone. As she quietly made her way to the only staircase when she saw the door across from her suddenly fly open. Her heart stopped for a moment before she realized it was another girl coming out of what looked like another bunkroom but only larger.

"Heya. The names Heaven but you can call me Heav." The girl said. She looked to be about 5'6" with dark brown hair and eyes to match. She wore a tattered black skirt and dirty blue shirt. "You're the girl Jack and Race found last night. You gave me a fright this morning you know. I woke up and here was this girl sleeping. It's good thing I went and found the boys before dragging you out of there." She girl named Heaven kept talking and Lynn had no idea what was happening. "Hey are you listening?" she asked

"O ya, umm, ya." Lynn said. Still plastered to the wall in the hallway.

"Good. Jacky-boy and me want to talk to you. Come on." Heav beckoned the girl to follow her into the bunkroom. "This is the boys bunkroom. As you can see it's much larger than ours but also smells of sweat." She said the last part a little quieter.

"Hey I heard that." Lynn heard another voice in the bunkroom. She searched around as she saw Jack walk out of what appeared to be the washroom for boys.

"O you can't deny it Jacky boy. And look who I found wondering the halls." Heav said as she motioned to Lynn.

"Hey." Jack said as he walked over to the girls. "You know we never found out your name last night." She looked between the newsies who were expectedly awaiting her answer.

"Lynn." She said softly as she held her hands together as she started twisting them in one another. A bad habit she had recently picked up when she got nervous. "Look Jack, I know you saw happened a week ago but I would appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone." She said. Heav looked between the two wondering if there was something between them. She could tell there was a story and she was going to find out one way or another. She was the gossip of the girls; it was her job to make sure she knew everything about every newsie.

"That's fine. You have my word." Jack said and he spit in his hand and held it out. He could see Lynn's face. It held uncertainty and disgust. "You do the same. It's a way newsies make promises to each other. Shows trust." He explained still holding out his hand.

"It's not that. It's…you can't tell Sarah either." She said. She wanted to make sure that no one knew what happened. She trusted Sarah but Lynn felt she already knew too much about her life. She couldn't have her know anymore.

"Sarah. Sarah Jacobs. You know her?" Jack asked letting his hand drop.

"Yes. We work together." Lynn said. She looked at the ground. Noticing for the first time the clothes that littered the floor, the sheets from the beds laying everywhere and the few windows that lined each side of the room. Then it hit him. This was the Lynn Sarah often talked about. He understood all too well why someone wouldn't want anyone to know about their life. All newsies understood it.

"I won't tell Sarah either." Jack said holding out his hand again. Lynn finally spit just a little in her hand, still unsure about the spitting thing, and cautiously put her hand in his.

"Well since you have a job, its a place to stay you need then." Heav said and Lynn nodded to confirm.

"Well you're welcome to stay here at the lodging house." Jack said leaning against one of the bunks. "It's two cents a night."

"Thanks." was all Lynn said.

"Well that is settled, its time for you to meet the other girls. Come on." Heav said as she grabbed Lynn's hand and dragged her out of the bunkroom.


	6. Someone to call a family

Chapter 5: Someone to call a family

The newsies were hanging around the Horace Greeley square all afternoon. The younger ones playing with their swords while the older ones played cards betting their hard earned money from that day.

"No wonder they're always begging for money." Lynn said as she watched Race swearing for losing a hand at poker.

"You have a boyfriend?" Lynn heard someone say to her.

"Huh." She said quietly as she turned her head to her to another female newsie named Baby. When you saw her there was no guessing where she got her name, her face said it all. She said she was seventeen but look like she had the face and body of thirteen year old. It didn't help that she mostly keep her light brown hair covering most of her face. Her green eyes told of her innocence with the world and her 5'1" petite frame didn't help much either.

"Do you have a boyfriend?" Baby asked again.

"O no." Lynn said. Forcing the tears not to well up in her eyes. She was glad Joshua was out of her life. Getting rid of him was the best thing she could do, that's what she had to keep telling herself. She thought she would have to believe it if she told herself that.

"Well that's ok. The best thing about living with the newsies is that you have all these great guys to look at. And maybe date, if you find the right one." Baby said with a smile. During the course of the afternoon, Lynn learned that Baby had been with the newsies for five years and recently started dating Dutchy, the blonde hair boy with glasses.

"Ya. Maybe." Lynn said but on the inside she wasn't interested in dating anyone at this time.

"Hey Lynn. I brought someone for you." Baby and Lynn and heard Jack yell. When Lynn turned around she saw it was Sarah.

"O thank god." Lynn said under breath as she got up to run over to friend. Sarah immediately gathered her in a hug, knowing she needed a friend more than ever. The newsies watched for a second with very little interest in what was happening between the two.

"Are you alright?" Sarah asked as the two pulled away from each other. Lynn looked at Jack who was only standing a couple feet away and didn't feel comfortable having Jack know more than he what he knew.

"Can we go somewhere else?" Lynn asked as she started walking towards a bench she saw next to a couple of stores. She moved swiftly through the crowd on the sidewalks with Sarah following behind her. Lynn always considered herself good at maneuvering around the crowds because of her 5'0" petite frame. She could easily find a small hole between the people that she could fit herself through. As she reached the bench she set herself down and waited for Sarah to catch up.

"What's happening Lynn?" Sarah asked as she sat down on the bench.

"I don't know Sarah." She said. It was true she didn't know how she came to be here.

"Why are living at the lodging house?" she couldn't help but feel sorry for her friend.

"My mom kicked me out." Lynn said. They both sat there for a couple of moments. Sarah knew if Lynn wanted to say something all she had to do was wait. "I was home cooking dinner when my mom came barging in from the bar complaining about something. I didn't really pay attention to her and the next thing I knew she pulled me by the hair and threw me to the ground. She was yelling that she knew what happened between Joshua and me and how dare I think about our family." Lynn took a deep breath, daring the tears to break the seal silently to herself. "She said since I can only think about myself that I had no business remaining in the family. So she kicked me out. That was just last night."

"I'm sorry Lynn." Sarah said as she put her arm around her. "But what Jack said is true. You can stay at the lodging house while you work at the shop."

"I know. And I'm glad for it." Lynn said as she looked at the people making their way down the street. "It just hurts to think, that even if my family only did consist of my mom and me, that I no longer have a family."

"Lynn. You'll always have family. You know my mom and dad think of you like their own." Sarah said.

"I know." She said thinking about the many times they welcomed her into their home.

"Hey who knows, maybe you'll run into your brother one of these days."

"Ya, who knows." Lynn said softly as she started thinking about Eric. He ran away three years ago after their father died. It was after his death her mom started changing for the worst.

"Hey Jack." Race said as he walked up to the leader. "I thought you would be out with Sarah till tonight." Putting away what money he left in his pocket.

"Ya. Well I thought someone might need a friend." Jack said as he gestured towards Sarah and Lynn. "O Race. Lynn asked us not mention anything about what happened."

"No problem Jacky-boy." Race said. "All wounds need time to heal." Race looked at Lynn knowing they both would have an unspoken bond. He couldn't help but notice the similarities between her and his sister. The way both acted strong but their eyes betraying them. Showing fear, uncertainty and weakness only a certain kind of girl could ever know.

It had been a couple of weeks since Lynn started living at the lodging house. She would get up, go to work, come back, do some more mending and go to sleep. It became a routine she knew quite well. As she sat on the roof of the lodging house she couldn't help but think what things would be like if she took a different path than the one she followed. But she couldn't come up with any answers. It was starting to get colder outside and winter was fast approaching. She knew she was going to be in trouble since she didn't have any other clothes. Lynn also knew she would have to risk breaking into her old home to get some appropriate clothes. She would just have to find a time when her mom wouldn't be at the apartment.

"Ugh, why me?" she said softly as she let her head drop into her hands.

"Is everything alright?" she heard a voice to her right. She looked over and saw Race in the little light the moon provided.

"Umm, ya." She said as she crossed her arms as he walked over and sat on the crate next to her own. It was silent for few minutes as they both thought of a way to start a conversation.

"Look-"

"Its star-" they both said at the same time looking at each other. Race was able to lock eyes with her for a moment before she turned away.

"You go." Lynn said. He waited another second before speaking.

"Look I don't know what has happened to you outside the alley and the bridge but if you ever need someone to just talk to or to listen, I'm always here." Race said. It was something he had been considering telling her for a while. He thought about what his sister would have liked during a time like this and he knew that just offering her an ear was just wanted she needed.

"Thanks. I'll keep that in mind." Lynn said as thought about what he said.

"I mean, you don't have to tell me but I know that sometimes just having a person there you can trust is comforting." Race said. He wanted to make it clear he wasn't pushing her. But he was also curious as to what happened. He wanted to know if he was right.

"O and this coming from the guy who cheats at cards." She said turning her head to slightly to look at him.

"I don't cheat." Race stated.

"Uh huh." She said with a small chuckle.

"No but really. I'm always here." He said looking at her. Waiting for her to speak. She was silent.

"Oh, this is where you expect me to tell you huh?" she more stated than asked.

"No, you don't have to." Race said as the both laughed a little. He could see the smile fade from her face.

"Look." She started to say but looked away shaking her head. "The guy who I broke up with that night had been my boyfriend for almost two years. Joshua was my first kiss, first date, first boyfriend. We practically we fell in love within the first two months. Everyone expected us to get married. We both did too. We never spoke about it outright but we both always implied it when talking about the future. My mother was beyond overjoyed. He wasn't extremely rich but his family did well where they didn't have to worry. And that's why his parents didn't mind us dating and a possible future, considering his mom was from a lower class." She looked down at her hands as she paused.

"But after the first eight months he started to change from the sweet, caring guy I knew to self-involved upper class boy. He had new friends and I always tried to tell him that they were bad influences on him but he didn't listen. He would just spend more time with them." She stopped and turned her face even farther away from him to subtly wipe a tear from her face. And she turned back to him.

"That's as much as I'm willing to tell you up front. If anyone else asked I would have no problem telling them that. I don't want to reject your offer because you offered me friendship not many people get in this city. But I'll always weary of someone even if I've know them for awhile." Race looked at her and tried to read her eyes. He could tell she was trying to put up a wall that no one could get over so everything would seem fine. But she had gone through so much pain that it was waiting to come out into the open.

"Its fine Lynn." Race said. "Newsies aren't all that trusting of new people either. Even if they met them a while ago."

"Well it seems we are both in a non trusting place." Lynn said as the both laughed a little. "Can I ask you for a favor?"

"I won't tell anyone what you said and will say later on." Race said immediately.

"O. Well besides that." Lynn said as she started twisting her hands in one other.

"Alright, shoot." He said.

"Well it's getting colder and I've been fine with what I'm wearing since I came here but soon it's not going to be enough. Can you help me or know someone who could help me break into my home and get the rest of my things?"

"Ya, of course. Jack and me can help you." He said.

"O thank you. It would mean a lot. The only problem is making sure my mom isn't there and the other neighbors don't see me." She said excited at the thought of having another shirt and skirt to wear. She was able to wash her current pair a couple of times at night but it still didn't feel clean enough to wear.

"Ya we can talk to Jack tomorrow about a plan and get your stuff." He said and he pulled a cigar out of his vest pocket.

"Thanks." Lynn said as she stood. "I think I'm going to head in. It's getting colder out here." She started walking to the fire escape. "Good night Race. O and thanks." She gave him a small smile and headed down the steps.

"Good night." He said pretty sure she didn't hear it. He rethought everything she had told him. He was trying to figure out what could have possibly influenced Joshua to harm a girl like her, especially if they were in love. Race sat up there for a few more moments, thinking of nothing in particular. "Sorry I was never there for you Annie." He said more to himself. And with that he headed back downstairs and called it a night.


	7. The Power of a Hug

Warning: this chapter does deal with some mature content. I don't go into much detail but tried to touch on it as lightly as could while trying not to sacrifice the importance it has on Lynn and Race.

Chapter 6: The Power of a Hug

A couple days had passed and all the newsies were at Tibby's eating their dinners. It was the first relief for them for the day because the wind was blowing strong bringing the cold with it.

"So what do you think, you think I got a shot?" Snoddy said running a hand through his hair trying to slick it back.

"With her, no." Itey said picking at his food with a fork.

"Hey I'm good looking and strong. What girl wouldn't want this." He said trying to convince everyone at the table.

"Ya but you forgot the foul the smell." Pie Eater said. "Every girl wants her guy smelling foul." Pie Eater said sarcastically.

"I don't smell." Snoddy tried to hit Pie on the head but he kept blocking all the hits.

"What's happening here?" Jack said and he and Race grabbed some chairs to sit.

"Snoddy here thinks he's got a shot with that girl Lynn." Itey said stuffing some food in his mouth.

"Ya. What do you think? She seems to only talk to you two." Snoddy said gesturing towards Jack and Race.

"It won't hurt to try." Jack said. Race and him looked at each other with a small chuckle. They both remembered the conversation they had with her yesterday.

_They were walking back to the lodging house after they snuck her into her old home. She was happy to get the rest of things because it meant not wearing the same thing everyday to work._

"_Have any of the newsies asked you out yet?" Jack asked. He knew the guys' interests in her were high. It didn't help that she barely spoke to any of them so it gave her that mysterious air. She would just come back to the lodge at night, go straight to the girl's room and continue working. It just perked up their interests even more. Mystery. _

"_No." Lynn said with a small laugh. "I hope no one does." She said with a smile._

"_What not interested in any of the guys?" Race asked._

"_Not right now, no. I barely know any of them. Plus I think I'm going to stay away from dating for a while." She said barely over a whispered._

"_Well you know one of them is going to ask you out sooner or later." Race said as he stuck his cigar in his mouth._

"_Well let's hope it later. I sure don't want to hurt anyone's feelings but I can't right now." She said._

"Ya I mean what's she going to do. Say no?" Race said. "Hey I bet you two bits she says no." he said to Snoddy.

"You're on. She won't be able to say no to this mug." Snoddy said sitting up straighter. Everyone around the table just laughed.

"Well it looks like now is your chance Snoddy." Pie said as he looked at the door. "She's coming in with Sarah right now." Everyone looked as the two entered the diner and made their way over to the table. Jack got up and Sarah gave him a kiss on the cheek. Lynn stood behind her looking everywhere but at the table full of newsies. Once again wringing her hands.

"Hey Snoddy. Don't you have something to ask Lynn." Itey said stuffing the rest of his food in his mouth. Lynn looked at the table with uncertainty and then at Race, silently asking him what was happening.

"Ya I do. Thanks Itey." Snoddy said giving the fellow newsie a small glare. He walked up to her and gestured towards table not too far from them. As they both sat the newsies kept looking at the two to see what would happen. Race noticed her twisting her hands in one another and knew how embarrassed Snoddy was going to be.

"What's happening?" Sarah asked noticing what was happening a few tables away but couldn't hear.

"Snoddy is asking Lynn out." Jack said as he pulled another chair over.

"What?" Sarah asked.

"Ya. Its quite entertaining really. Poor guy don't have a chance." Race said. He then noticed Lynn getting up and walking hastily towards them. But instead of stopping, she headed right towards the door.

"Ya entertaining for you." Sarah said as she got and followed her friend out the door.

"What's the matter Snoddy?" Pie said as he saw his friend approach them.

"She said no." he said disgruntled and handed Race two bits.

"Ah. It's pleasure doing business with ya." Race said as he pocketed the money.

"Lynn wait up." Lynn heard Sarah call after her. She stopped at the corner and waited for her friend to catch up. "Lynn what's wrong?"

"Snoddy asked me out." Lynn said not facing her friend.

"Well there's nothing wrong with that." Sarah said trying to calm her friend down. "What did you say?" Lynn gave a small snort.

"I said no of course." She said leaning against the brick building. Looking down at her feet.

"Why?" Sarah asked. "Maybe what you need is to go out with a few guys to forget about Joshua."

"No it's not that. In the past few weeks I have been able to forget about him." Lynn said taking a deep breath in. She knew it was time to tell Sarah what she had been hiding from her. "Sarah. I can barely be around a guy who I feel comfortable with. Jack and Race are the only two who I'm not scared with. I don't have to put up my guard up with them and worry about if they're going to harm me. When its any other guy I'm constantly thinking if they're going to put their hand on my shoulder or get too close into my personal space." It was silent for a few moments. "I don't know why but all of sudden these feelings are coming up."

"Lynn, is there something you're not telling me?" Sarah asked as she moved out of the way for passing traffic on the sidewalk. Lynn gave a small nod.

"Sarah. You're my best friend and you always cared about me like a sister. But I never wanted to tell this because I didn't know how you would react." Lynn said looking at her. "You know how crazy Joshua and me were about each other. Well not too long after we started dating we, well you know we did it. I didn't want to but somehow our communication got crossed he interrupted my no as a yes. So after that I figured why not keep doing it, I wasn't pure anymore and it was fun." Lynn said. She could feel the tears starting to well up in her eyes. "But after he started hanging out with his new friends he started becoming aggressive about it. Wanting to do it nearly everyday. And I told him I didn't want to and eventually I told him I wanted to stop it all together. But he didn't like that. So he decided that he was going to take me whether I wanted it to or not." Lynn could feel her throat choking up and decided to not to say anything else.

"Wait. Are you telling me he raped you?" Sarah said. She could see the tears starting to break.

"Yes. I thought I was fine after we broke up. I knew I wasn't going to date anyone for now but like I said all these feelings have started coming. Are they trying to friendly or do they have motivations. And I can't help but feel that maybe its my fault. If I had just gone a long with what he wanted I would be feeling this way. I might actually be happy." The tears started rolling down her eyes. A handkerchief appeared to her left but the hand didn't belong to Sarah. When she looked at the owner of the hand she saw Race standing next to her and Jack beside him. She knew right there that they heard everything and looked down in shame. Everyone stood there no one knew what to say.

"Hey why don't you go get something to eat. I'll take care of her." Race said lightly to Sarah and Jack. Sarah was hesitant; she didn't want to leave her friend like this. But she didn't know what else to do so she allowed Jack to lead her back to Tibby's.

"Hey come on." Race said softly as he put his hand on her shoulder. He led her back to the lodging house and brought her up to the roof. The whole time neither of them spoke. And it was good ten minutes before a single word passed between the two on the roof.

"Look I would appreciate it if you didn't tell the rest of the guys." Lynn said quietly. The last thing she wanted was people pitying her.

"I said what I meant the last time. I won't ever tell anyone." Race said. It was silent again. Race knew the same look in her eyes was for the same reason as his sister. Both were victims of abusive boyfriends and had no idea how to cope with it.

"Look, I really don't know what to say right now." Lynn finally said. She couldn't handle the silence between the two of them anymore.

"You don't have to say anything." Race said. "But I do have a question. Why didn't you tell anyone what was happening?"

"Look Race, I appreciate you trying to help but I just can't right now." Lynn said looking at him. "It just still hurts too much to talk." He could still the tear streaks running down her cheeks even though tears had stopped and he hastily got up and walked to the edge of the roof.

"Are you alright Race?" she asked getting up to walk over to him. The wind has picked up since leaving Tibby's and they could see the red and oranges streaking the sky and the sun decided it was the end of the day.

"No." she didn't know what to say. She didn't think her story would have affected him this much. "I had a sister like you. She was naïve about love. I could tell the instant I looked in your eyes what you had gone through because your eyes held the same fears and worries as my sister's when it happened to her." He said. He pushed himself off the edge and turned towards her. "Her name was Annabel but we all just called her Annie. After our folks died, I came here and she lived in one of the factory's dorms. I would see her every weekend and a couple months later she started dating a guy she met at the factory. She was 16 then and I was only 12. She didn't tell me at the time but he ended up raping her not too shortly after they started dating. After that I still saw her but not as much. But there was something different in the way she carried herself. How she acted was different and her eyes that once held this brightness to them were gone. A couple months later I got a letter from one of her friends saying she killed herself because she couldn't deal with what happening. Like me, they had no idea what happened to her until they read the note she left." Lynn could see the hurt in his eyes. She could tell that they were close.

"It makes me so angry that there are guys out there who did this kind of stuff." He said suddenly, resuming his previous position against the edge. "They make girls trust them and then do what they want. That's why I made my offer to you. I felt like if I was there for her, she could talk to me and she would still be here. Probably would have met the perfect guy for her and be married with a family. I don't want to see the same thing happen to you." Race said looking at her and then back to the departing sun.

Lynn didn't know what to do. She didn't know how to deal with her stuff and she didn't know to handle the information Race entrusted to her. She gently touched Race's shoulder and he slowly pushed himself off the edge to face her one more time. He was searching her face for something but didn't know what. She would look at him and then away, as if deciding what to do next. She suddenly stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his neck. He stumbled backwards a bit not expecting the hug and once he regained his footing he slowly wrapped his arms around her. They stood there, both accepting the comfort of the hug. It was then they both realized just how powerful a hug could be.


	8. Trip to Brooklyn

Chapter 7: Trip to Brooklyn

The days turned into weeks and the weeks into months. Lynn's life was predictable except for one thing. She started making friends at the lodging house. It started with hanging out with Race and then slowly becoming friends with Mush and Blink. It took awhile but she slowly but surely was able to feel comfortable around them. It was the same thing with the rest of newsies; she slowly but surely got to know each and everyone of them. It took about two months for her to become comfortable with everyone in the house and Race noticed the wringing of her hands was slowly disappearing. Race also noticed that she still jumped when a guy got too close for her liking but with time that eventually came less often.

It was the middle of December and winter had come later this year. There was snow everywhere and the freezing weather had turned it into ice. But somehow on this day the sun decided to shine through the crowds and attempted to melt some of the ice and snow.

Race was near the Brooklyn Bridge trying to sell his papes to the few people who wandered the streets. He was glad that he didn't buy as many papes this morning because he had only a few more left, meaning he could get inside to someplace warm faster.

He just handed a pape to a couple who tried to wrap their clothes tighter around themselves to get more warmth.

"One more pape." He said to himself as he pocketed the penny.

"Race." He heard someone shout his name. He looked around and saw a familiar figure walking towards. A smile tugged at his lips.

"Hey Lynn. Where are you headed to?" he said as she walked closer. He could still see her tiny figure under all the layers she tried to pile on in an attempt to keep the cold away from her.

"To Brooklyn." Lynn said. "I have some deliveries to make over there." As she gestured towards the basket that was full of wrapped clothing she carried.

"Brooklyn? What they don't have any tailoring over there?" Race asked.

"No apparently not." Lynn said with a small laugh. "Mr. and Mrs. Williams also own a shop in Brooklyn but they aren't as good over there. They often have to bring the harder mending over to us and then we bring it back."

"Well I'll go with you. You shouldn't be walking around in Brooklyn by yourself you know." Race said as they started walking towards the bridge.

"What about your papes?" Lynn asked.

"Well as you can see I only have one left." Race said. "Be right back." He ran across the street and yelled a headline Lynn couldn't quite hear. As fast as he left he returned empty handed. "Lets go." He said grabbing Lynn's basket for her.

"No Race, you don't have to." Lynn tried to protest but he held up his free hand.

"I want to. Plus, like I said earlier, you shouldn't be walking around Brooklyn by yourself." He said as he walked farther towards the bridge forcing Lynn to jog a little to catch up.

"I've walked around Brooklyn by myself before Race. Like I said, there's another Williams Tailor Shop over there." She said.

"Nope." Was all he said.

"Nope? Nope what?" she asked now trying to grab her basket from him but he switched it in his hands forcing her to make circles around him. After a few circles he gently grabbed her elbow forcing her to stop.

"Will you stop? I'm going with you." Race said. Noticing that she was able to look him in the eye for more than few seconds. But it didn't last long.

"Alright." She said tearing her gaze away from him and leading the rest of the way to the bridge. He gave a small smile.

It took about three hours to get over the bridge and do about half the deliveries.

"My feet are tired." Lynn said. "Lets stop for some lunch." She stopped at small restaurant she often visited when the job took her to Brooklyn.

"Not too expensive, alright?" Race said. He did want to admit it but he had to watch what he spent for the next week. He didn't have as much funds as he hoped he would have.

"Don't worry." Lynn said. "It's on me." Race was about to say something but she beat him to it. "And think of it as a thank you present for carrying my basket all around Brooklyn." She said turning towards him. She learned during her two months of living with the newsies that they weren't inclined to take charity from everybody.

"Alright." Race said hesitantly. As the two entered Lynn led their way over to her favorite spot, the last booth by the window. "What do they have?" he said looking around for a menu.

"The same as Tibby's." Lynn said signaling for a waiter.

"What can I get you?" A waiter who looked around thirty something said. Lynn and Race ordered their meals and as the waiter turned to leave they could hear him say," O great, here they come." Both looked out the window to see whom he was talking about. At the front of the group was none of than Spot Conlon. Race's back was to the entrance but he could hear the newsies enter and could hear the footsteps of Spot Conlon coming rights towards him.

"Hey Race." Spot said stopping at their table.

"Hey Spot. How's Brooklyn?" Race asked as he spit in his hand and held it out as Spot did the same.

"Doing good. What are you doing here? I hope you're not selling here." Spot said.

"Nah. Just walking around with my friend." Race said as he gestured towards her. He could already see the discomfort she was feeling. Spot's gaze switched from his friend to the blonde girl sitting across from him. As he looked at her, he couldn't help but feel like he had seen her before.

"The names Spot Conlon. Leader of the Brooklyn newsies." He said holding out his hand. "And you are?" he asked as she slowly put her hand into his.

"Lynn." She said softly.

"Well it's a pleasure meeting you Lynn." He said as his lips brushed against her trembling hand. She didn't know why but she couldn't tear her eyes from him. Her mind was completely thoughtless as she stared into his blue eyes when something finally clicked in her head and she instantly brought her gaze from Spot to Race.

"Mind if I join you?" Spot said as he finally released her hand and continued looking at her. He moved to sit by Lynn in the booth when Race spoke.

"Hey Spot, why don't you sit over here." Race said as he swiftly got up and scooted himself next to Lynn.

"Thank you." Lynn quietly said as Spot sat opposite of the two.

"I didn't know you had a girl." Spot said as he observed the two.

"I don't. We're just friends." Race said as their orders were brought to the table. For the rest of lunch there was tension at the table that no one could quite put their finger on. But all three knew it was there. Mostly Race and Spot talked about the events happening in their own boroughs. They barely spoke to Lynn and she was happy about that but it wasn't till they were all finished with their food that Spot said something to her.

"What do you do Lynn?" he asked as he placed both his elbows on the table and leaned in towards her.

"I work at the Williams Tailor Shop." Lynn said trying to avoid any eye contact.

"Here in Brooklyn?" Spot asked. Maybe that's where he had seen her before he thought to himself.

"No, in Manhattan." she said

"What a shame. My spot is near their Brooklyn shop. It would have been nice to see a pretty dame walk by everyday that I recognized." He said and Lynn made the mistake of looking into his eyes. To Spot her eyes were too easy to read. He could see the fear and uncertainty in them. After a minute she was able to pull her eyes away from him.

"Well we should get going. You still have more deliveries and if you want to make it back before dusk we better hurry." Race said.

"Ya I'm just going to use the restroom." Lynn said and Race got up to let her out. Spot stood as well. Holding out his hand. Lynn once again gently placed her hand in his.

"A pleasure meeting you Lynn. I hope we meet again soon." Spot said as he brushed his lips against her hand once again. He couldn't still feel the tremble in her hands as he had done earlier.

"Bye" was all she said as she picked up her basket and mumbled something about meeting Race outside.

"What's up?" Spot asked as they sat down.

"What do you mean?" Race asked. He knew what Spot meant but he didn't want to answer.

"You say she ain't your girl but you're pretty protective of her." Spot simply stated. It was his job to know all the people who wandered in his domain and their story. Race remained silent.

"Alright. Then you won't mind if I ask her out."

"She won't go with you." Race stated. He noticed her coming from the back and up to the register to pay the bill.

"Well I don't really think you have a choice in that Race since she's not your girl." Spot said.

"She won't be comfortable around you." Race said trying to convince Spot that Lynn wouldn't say yes.

"And why's that." Race knew Spot was trying to aggravate him to get the truth but it wasn't his story to say.

"Look Spot, take it from a friend". Race spotted Lynn walk outside and he took that as his cue. "Both your's and her's, she's not going to be comfortable around you right now." With that he walked out of the diner.

The two started walking in the direction of her next stop. Both were quiet, neither wanting to speak.

"Thanks for back there." Lynn said as she looked at Race.

"Don't worry. That's what friends are for." Race said as he gave her a small smile and grabbed the basket from her. This time she didn't protest. They finished the rest of their stops and after an hour were heading back to Manhattan. Both didn't speak and they both silently agreed to keep it that way.


	9. What ifs

Ok, so its been quite awhile since I updated. I wasn't happy with what I had before and started to rewrite and wasn't happy about that and then after the New Year decided to start trying again. But it was a message from Ealasaid Una that gave me the kick in the butt. I updated basically every chapter because of spelling and have changed a few things. So go back and reread. I hope you enjoy it and I do plan on finishing the story. I already the have the outline written out.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from the newsies but everything else that is not from the movies.

Chapter 8: What ifs

"You need to stop taking the mending home with you." Mrs. Williams said to Lynn as she watched the young girl pack up a few things.

"I don't mind."

"I know you don't mind but I pay you for what you do here not there. You work yourself too hard." Lynn stopped what she was going and looked at her employer unsure what to do now.

"Well can't you pay me to that as well. You pay Sarah to do so." Lynn said as she gestured towards the other girl.

"No." Ms. Williams said letting out an exaggerated breath. "If you must bring something home bring home the scraps and practice your embroidering." Mrs. Williams said grabbing some scraps of fabric and embroidery thread in the corner of the room and brought it back to Lynn. "Show me what you are able to do in two weeks." With that Mrs. Williams walked out of the backroom. Lynn started unpacking the mending and replaced it with her new task's material.

"Lynn look on the bright side." Sarah said sitting near her friend. "If Mrs. Williams likes your embroidery work then she might have you start doing more of the custom orders rather than the mending. You'll get paid more and half one more day off."

"Ya, I guess." She responded. Normally anyone would be glad at a chance of advancement in their job but no even a slight smile showed on her lips.

"Lynn is everything ok?" Sarah asked moving to stand in front of Lynn.

"Yes. I've just been thinking lately about everything with Joshua, my mother and maybe finding Eric." Lynn said as she gathered up her things to go home.

"Well do you want to talk about it?" Sarah asked copying Lynn and grabbing her things.

"No." They both walked out the door and continued their way to Tibby's silent. A light dust of snow started to fall as they got their destination. Sarah immediately headed for Jack who was sitting with Davey and Les and Lynn to Baby and Angel, another girl newsie she met shortly after arriving at the lodging house.

"Hey Sarah." Jack said as she kissed him on the cheek as she sat down.

"Jack I need you to do something." Sarah said and continued before he could say a word. "Lynn has been a little withdrawn the past couple of days. Can you or Race try to see if something's up?"

"We noticed it too but you know her as well as we do. She's not going to say something unless she really wants to."

"I know but can't you at least try. Maybe just talking to her about something unrelated or something might make her open up."

"I'll have Race try." Jack said.

"Thanks Jack." Sarah said. The table sat in an uncomfortable silence for a minute before someone finally spoke.

"It looks like it's getting really dark out now. Come on Les, Sarah, we should get home before dinner." David said as he stood up to leave. Grabbing Les by the arm he quickly said his byes while Sarah slowly stood.

"Good night Jack. Will I see you tomorrow?" Sarah asked.

"I don't know. I'll have to see how business is." Jack said taking a sip of his water.

"Alright. Well goodnight Jack." She said as she left. This is how their relationship was and it seemed to her that with every passing day he was becoming more and more distant from her.

Lynn sat alone in the girl's bunkroom while the other lounged in the boy's room. The snow was still falling and looked as if there was no sign of it stopping soon. She started working on her embroidery task that Mrs. Williams gave her that day. She knew that if she was good enough that she could start doing the custom orders for the shop. Inside she was thrilled but outside she just couldn't show it. There was something more plaguing her mind and she couldn't shake it away.

Joshua had been sweet when they first met. He was the doting boyfriend any girl would love to have but when he started to change she couldn't help but ask if it was because of his new friends or just deep down inside that who he really was. Then there was her mom. How did her mom find out about her break up with Joshua? Did he tell her? She only told Sarah, and Jack and Race were the only two to see what happened. He had to. But she thought if he would really stoop that low to make her life even more miserable than what it was. But the only way to know if it was true was if she talked to him.

"Ya like that's going to happen." She said to herself with a sarcastic chuckle.

"What's so funny?" Lynn heard and when she looked up she saw Race.

"Ah, nothing, just thinking to myself." She put her embroidery down as he sat next to her on her bed. They sat there as they could hear the laughter coming from down the hall. "I was just thinking about Joshua. About how it is I ended up here in my life." She looked at her hands while she rubbed the palm with her other hand and Race just sat there and watched her. He knew not to interrupt her thoughts when she said them out loud.

"I was thinking about how if I did something different, like be more demanding about not having sex, would the same things have happened. Like, would he really have had listen to me or would he still not have cared and take what he wanted. But then there's a question about his friends. I feel like his friends would influence his too much and that it could have been their opinions that really affected our relationship. I see the way they treated women. They don't care one bit about them. They use them and would send them off on their way. Johnny was the worst of them all. Nearly every night I had to spend with them he found a new girl. Some were innocent like me and others belonged in a brothel. So it kind of makes me wonder did Johnny really have that much of an influence on him? I mean, Joshua said something to me one night when I was trying to convince him to bring me home." She stopped talking. Lynn looked out the window across the room for a moment before she continued.

"We were in an alley and all I wanted to do was go home because, well, he was trying to have sex with me. I was fighting with him a little more than usual and he was getting frustrated so he just 'Its your duty as a women and as my girlfriend to have sex with me' and I…I." Race could hear the sobs slowly form in her throat.

"Lynn, sshhh, its ok." Race said as he wrapped his arm around her and brought her close to him. "Shhh."

"And all I did was give up." She said slowly trying to form her words with the lack of air she was getting. "All I did was give up. That's when I realized he had changed and there was no going back."

They sat there as she quietly let the tears slid down her cheeks. Jack and Race knew something was bothering her earlier, even Mush and Blink had commented on her solemn mood at Tibby's. But her saying the name Johnny hit a cord with him. The way she described him, Race couldn't help but think if this was the Harlem leader she was talking about.

"I'm sorry." She said as she pushed herself away from him. "I just seem to all of sudden have so many questions and as what if's in my head that I can't think straight right now. I mean, what if I never dated Joshua or if he turned out to be this way how would our life be right now. What if he never met those idiot friends or if I never found that ounce of courage that night I broke it off. What if my brother never ran off or if he took me with him. How different would my life be if all these what if's happened." Race barely let her finished her thought when he placed his knuckle under chin and lifted her face towards his.

"But if all these what if's happened you wouldn't be here with us now. You wouldn't be rid of a guy who could have turned out to be a better person or maybe just the same jerk he was. You wouldn't have made friends with the newsies and wouldn't be as happy as you deserve to be." Race said softly to her. They both realized how close together they were. She could feel his soft breath run against her cheek. The both felt an unexplainable pull bringing them closer together. His lips just hovered a moment over hers asking permission to finish the distance. She didn't give him a reason not to.

"Lynn! I was wondering…" Angel banged the door open and the two pulled apart trying to appear as if nothing happened. But unfortunately for them Angel had seen and so had Baby and Heav who were trailing right behind her in the room. "What are you two up to?"

"Nothing." Race said standing up, trying to create more distance between him and Lynn. "See you later." He walked out the door without so much as a look back to his friend.

"Is everything ok?" Baby asked talking Race's seat next to her. "You look like you've been crying."

"Ya I'm fine." She said wiping whatever tears remained on face.

"Are you sure?" Angel asked. Wanting to ask what was happening with Race but held her tongue.

"Yes." Lynn refused to look at any of them directly in the eye. "You said you wondering about something." Angel hesitated for a moment but thought now wasn't the time.

"Ya. Baby and I wanted to see if you wanted to go on a girl's night with us. We can also bring Sarah along if her parents allow it but we thought it would a great night away from the boys."

"You mean Baby away from Dutchy for the night?" Lynn said sarcastically about her friend with a laugh. It seemed the couple was always attached to the hip. Wherever one was, you could find the other.

"O ha ha, laugh all you. But you can't blame me. I gotta look out for my property." Baby said with a smile. Angel rolled her eyes and looked back at Lynn.

"Well?" Heav asked.

"Sure. It might be just what the doctor ordered." Lynn said feeling like a ton of bricks lifted off her shoulders as her earlier thoughts left her.

"Good, tomorrow then. Since you won't have to work the next day." Baby said getting up and the newsies moved to their things to get ready for bed.


	10. Lost Sibling

I hope you all enjoy. This is a pretty long chapter and was considering dividing it up into two parts but decided that everything in it was too crucial to split up. Please do keep in mind that Lynn's actions might seem to be a bit back and forth in the past chapter and for a couple more. I'm trying to convey the feelings that a victim of abuse could go through because it is pretty important with how they cope, and do whatever they decide to do. I write from personal experiences and understand that there are other ways but this is how I decided to write Lynn.

Chapter 9: Lost Sibling

"Hey Shade." Spot said as his second in command walked to the end of the pier as the sun still let off enough heat before the cooling night set it in. "Come here." He sat in front of his leader. Spot looked closely at him. Since meeting Lynn he couldn't help but shake the feeling that there was a close resemblance between her and his second.

"Ya Spot." Shade said becoming a little uneasy under Spot's glare. He hadn't broken any rules, it was quite the opposite, he was punishing those who broke them.

"Well a couple days ago I met a girl." Spot said playing with the tip of his cane.

"Ya, you're always meeting girls Spot." Shade said trying to defuse the tension that was building. Spot laughed a little.

"That I do. But there was something different about this girl. And as I sat there I couldn't help feel as if I knew her from somewhere but I would have remembered a face like that. So I've been thinking and here you are I couldn't help but notice a few similarities between her and you."

"Me?" he asked knowing there was only one other person that could look like him.

"Ya. You Shade." Spot said looking him straight in the eyes. "And I started thinking to myself, maybe you're related to her. You got the same blue eyes, same shade of blonde hair and your faces could almost be identical."

"Well what's her name?" Shade asked. He wasn't quite sure if he was happy or not that he might have found his sister. Considering he was the one that ran away and left her with that mother of theirs. When their father had died of fever their mom started drinking almost everyday. She gave up working and relied on the money Shade and his sister brought home. Which was barely enough for rent and food on the table everyday.

"Lynn." Spot said after a moment of silence. He saw his second's eye widen a bit giving away that he knew who this girl was.

"Ya, I know her." Shade said scratching his neck. "That's my sister, we're twins." He looked at his leader. "Where did you see her?"

"Over at Charlie's. She was there with Race." Spot said. He noticed the questioning look on Shade's face. "I didn't know why either but I had Sly follow them, it looks like she's living with Manhattan."

"What!" Shade practically yelled.

"Calm down." Spot said noticing a few of the newsies close by looking over. He glared their way and they immediately went back to their business. "Race also seemed protective of her. He didn't let me sit next her and she barely talked to me. And if I was ever close to her she would tremble." Shade put his head in his hands not believing what he was hearing. He had hope that his mom would realize what an idiot she was being when he ran away and would clean up her act. He had hope that Lynn would have found a guy who loved her took of her like she deserved. He had too many questions now.

"I got to go see her Spot." Shade said standing up and Spot followed.

"Hold on. There's something else you got to know."

"What is it?"

"After she left I had mentioned to Race that I was going to ask her out. You know, to see how he reacted." Spot said putting his cane in his belt loop. "He said that she wouldn't be comfortable around me. I just want you to be prepared, something happened to your sister." Spot looked at his second, the guy who had been his best friend since he came three years ago and just like a brother. "Come on, let's get over there before it's too dark." And with that both the newsies left in the direction of Manhattan's Lodge.

"What is this place again?" Lynn asked as Angel led the group through the crowd.

"It's the _Little Shepard_. They don't care who you are they'll serve you a drink, which is what we newsies need." Angel said as her 5'8" athletic frame stopped at a table.

"We got lucky girls." Baby said as all five sat down. "It's not that crowded in here." Lynn looked at Sarah with a look that said she was thankful for that.

A couple hours later and quite a few drinks later the girls were a few blocks away from the lodging house.

"Ok. Now… Lynn are you helping here Baby feels like she weighs a ton." Angel said.

"Yes. But it doesn't help that she literally is giving us all her weight." Lynn said struggling to help Angel keep Baby upright. "At least she can move one foot in front of the other."

"We're going to have to make sure we don't make too much noise. Jack doesn't like it if we make too much in case some of the younger ones are sleeping. Like we know they are sleeping while all older ones are still awake." Heav said the last part sarcastically giving an eye roll to Jack's rule.

"O please. Jack just has a stick up his ass." The mostly sober girls heard. Sarah continued walking as if what she just said was nothing out of the ordinary. Lynn made a mental note that she needed to talk to her friend first thing Monday. The girls walked the last couple of minutes as they got the front door of their home.

"Hold on Lynn I'm going to go get Dutchy." Angel said as she moved Baby to sit on the steps. "Have the boyfriend deal with his girl." She laughed as she disappeared inside and watched as Sarah went inside to get Davey. Baby sat there barely able to hold up her head when she reached for both Lynn and Heav's hand and weakly pulled on them to sit down. Lynn and Heav obeyed her measly command and sat on either side.

"Lynn. I hope you had fun. No really I hope you did. We have been worried about you always sewing and barely talking. Sure you have made friends but still we worry about you." Baby slurred and Lynn could smell the alcohol on her breath. She didn't get a chance to respond because the door opened and out came Dutchy. "Dutchy!"

"Thanks I got her." He said as he scooped up his girl. Sarah walked down the steps without so much of a bye to her friend and she looked at the door to see Davey holding the door open for the newsie carrying his girl.

"Night Lynn. Heav." He said as walked down the steps and after his sister.

"This has been one strange night." Lynn as she watched the two disappear down the street.

"It sure has. But at least you had fun, right?" Heav said

It wasn't too long after they sat down that three boys had come up to them buying them all a round. The black hair boy was paying Angel extra special attention, the taller one was definitely into Heav and their brunette friend seemed to want to feel out the other three girls. Lynn didn't care one bit and she knew Baby was too sweet on Dutchy to do anything but Sarah, Sarah became an open invitation to the boy. After another round was bought and Angel had the boy right where she wanted him she started ignoring him. Of course the boy didn't know what was happening but the girls knew. This is how they could drink without paying a dime. After a few more attempts of getting Angel's attention he cursed lowly and grabbed his friends by their shoulders and dragged them away. Angel was able to find another willing guy to buy another round and when they just about finished their drinks Baby was practically falling where she was standing. So they left the _Little Shepherd _and ended up here.

Lynn had been hesitate at first, the bar reminding her of one Joshua would take her to and one that always gave her an uneasy feeling but soon the place proved it full of patrons looking to have harmless fun for a few hours.

The two walked inside and up the stairs when they realized no one was downstairs. When they reached the top there stood Jack, Race and Spot. Jack was talking while leaning against the doorframe, Race stood on the other side glaring at Spot, while Spot opposite of the two leaned against the wall at comfortable ease. Lynn had felt uncomfortable around Spot at their first meeting but seeing him like that made her think he was just like one of the other boys.

"Hi" Heav said coming up to the group with Lynn following. Lynn's three drinks had made her feel at ease earlier but now she was definitely feeling the tiredness coming.

"Hey, You and the girls had fun I see." Jack said to Heav as she took her place next to him. "Dutchy sure is going to have fun time tomorrow morning getting Baby up."

"More like Baby is going to have fun getting up." Heav said with a light laugh.

"Lynn you remember Spot?" Race said without a friendly tone in his voice.

"Yes." She gave him a small smile and he stood up right with his hands resting on his cane. He didn't have his hat on which allowed her to see his hair was dirty blond and long enough that his bangs fell in front of his eyes.

"He has something needs to ask you." Race said. She looked at Race but couldn't describe the emotion on his face. It seemed as if jealousy ran across it but there was something else that was there. Protectiveness she thought. The looked through the open door that led to the Boy's room but none of them paid attention to their group. They were all busy either playing poker or joking around with each other. Whatever it was it seemed more fun than standing where she was. "Do you want us to leave?" Race asked as he slipped his hand around her waist. She briefly looked down at his hand before she answered.

"You can stay." She said looking to Race and Jack as she turned to Spot. She had no idea what Spot Conlon would want with her but whatever it she wanted to have some friends there in case. "Shoot." She said, a phrase she learned from the newsies as she stepped slightly closer to Spot forcing Race's hand to drop. O ya, She was definitely feeling at ease she thought.

"You know after we met the other day I couldn't help but feel as if I recognized you from somewhere. I thought about it more and then it came to me." Spot said his eyes not leaving her face. "Shade." He yelled calling one his second in command. "Do you have a brother?"

"Yes." She said quietly. Out of all the things he could have asked he had to ask about this. "I had a twin. But he ran away. I haven't heard or talked to him since."

"What was his name?" Spot asked calmly.

"Eric." She could feel the tears welling up in her eyes but she had no clue why. She had talked about her brother before.

"Lynn." She heard from behind her but she knew the male voice didn't belong to either Race or Jack. She looked at Spot maybe to get some answers from his face but he betrayed nothing. Her breaths got heavier and time seemed slow down. No one moved. "Lynn?" She heard again. This time she slowly turned around and saw a face she hadn't seen in three years.

"Eric?" she asked as her knees gave away and her body followed. She barely touched the floor as a pair of hands grabbed onto her and helped her up. She turned her head and Spot with a look of concern in his face. The last thing she remembered was thinking maybe Baby wasn't the only one with too much to drink.

Spot moved his right arm under her knees to pick her up and as Race moved forward to grab her as well.

"I'll grab her." Race said.

"No Race. I got her." Spot said as he straightened himself up with Lynn in his arms. "Where should I put her Jack?"

"Girl's Room. Heav will show you which bed." Jack said with Heav leading Spot into the girl's room and to the second bed on the right. Spot put her down carefully and Shade sat down on the bed next to her. The Manhattan leader looked at both Lynn and Shade and there was no denying that those were related. Same blonde hair and blue eyes, the only difference was he was 5'10 and she barely over 5'. He turned around and saw Race standing behind him. "Come on Race. Let her brother take care of her." He said and he patted his friend on the shoulder as he left with Heav. Race took one last glance at her as he left with a feeling deep in the pit of his stomach he couldn't describe it. It was as though he was disappointed he couldn't take care of her.

Lynn had been out for the past hour with Shade by her side. Spot sat in a chair as he watched his second in command wait for his sister to wake up. A couple minutes before, Dutchy had taken Baby to the washroom because she wasn't feeling to good. Spot had a good laugh at it as he remembered when newcomers to the Brooklyn would drink for their first time. Many ended in up in washroom.

"I don't even know what to say to her when she wakes up." Shade said quietly. "When I ran away I purposefully left Manhattan so she couldn't find me. So our mom couldn't find me. And now here she is, with Manhattan and not at home."

"I can't tell you what to say Shade." Spot said. A minute later Lynn began to slightly move in bed. She moved a bit more and started to wake up with a groan. She moved her hand to eyes to shield them from the light and a few seconds later removed it as she slowly opened her eyes.

"This must be a dream because I have not seen you in three years." She said.

"No, you aren't." Shade said looking at his sister as he searched through his mind on what to say next. She sat up and noticed Spot out of the corner of her eye.

"I assume you only found me because of Spot." She said looking at the Brooklyn leader. Any trace of concern she thought she saw before was gone.

"He told me he saw someone who looked a lot like me with Race. And that her name was Lynn."

"So you're a Brooklyn newsie." She found her hands to be very interesting and so did Shade. She would call it a family habit, though where they got it from they didn't know.

"Ya I am."

"And you've been there since you ran away." All he did was nod. He didn't even need to respond she knew the truth.

"So, why come to me now?" She said with a slight harshness to her tone.

"Lynn its difficult…" Shade started but couldn't finish since his sister interpreted him.

"No Eric, its not. You left without a note. Without telling me. Without me." She had to control her voice from yelling.

"I couldn't bring you but I came once Spot told me you were living here. I wanted to know why you were here rather than home." His voice equally as loud as her's.

"You want to know why I'm here? I'll tell you, its because one night my brother left me." She said getting onto her knees and sitting on her heels. "And because he left there was only one to bring money to the table, since our incompetent mother decided it was still better for her not to work. You know she was still grieving, just because she drank didn't mean she didn't grieve. If you thought she was monster then well I don't know what to call her once you left. One income she decided wasn't good enough. So one day she decided to dress me up the best she could and try to parade me around where the middle class folk gathered. You know, so that I could marry a guy of good standing one day and he would be forced to take care of his wife's mother. Ooooo and let me tell you, it eventually worked. Meet a guy named Joshua and he was nice. We got to know one another, really liked each other you know. Then he started acting strange and got to the point where he took advantage of me when he wanted. And you know why because it was my _duty_ as a woman and as his girlfriend. But I had to stay because of mother." The tears spilled from eyes as her voice held nothing but anger. She looked at Spot. "Can you believe that, it was my _duty_." And looked back he brother when saw Spot keep the same face he had as earlier. "But I knew it was wrong, Oooo I knew it and when I had the courage I finally broke it off. Then mom found out, how I don't know but she didn't like that and kicked me out. Kicked me out. And now here I am because Jack and Race found me one night on the Brooklyn Bridge, offered me place to stay and the feeling of being able to trust someone again." Shade couldn't look at her. He wanted to know and now he knew. It was quiet, no move and no one spoke. The only noise was the wind outside the heaving breaths Lynn took as the tears rolled down her face. She gave a small chuckle.

"Its funny you know. If you never left or if you had taken me, I mostly would never have met Joshua. I don't care about mom, but I do care my sense of security, the ability to trust and the hope to love someone and be loved back was taken from me. Taken from me by a guy who I would have never met if you had been my big brother." And with that she had nothing more to say. She angrily wiped the tears from her face not looking at her brother.

"I'm sorry Lynn. I really am. If I had known any of this was going to happen trust me I would have done anything to prevent it. But I had to leave. I thought if mom saw I ran away she might clean up her act and start being the mom she used to be. But I can see I was wrong." Shade spoke softly. "And as for this fellow he's dead. When I find out where he is, he won't be moving a step from that place." His voice got louder as he stood up. "How dare he do that to you. How dare he."

"Shade clam down." Were the first words Spot spoke since she woke up.

"I will not Spot. Some guy abused my sister, I have the right to be mad." Shade said.

"The right to be mad!" Lynn said. "If anyone has the right to be mad its me. You weren't even around during the time I was there. So if anyone has the right to be mad its me."

"Listen just because I wasn't there doesn't mean I can't be mad." Shade said as he grabbed onto his sister's arm. "I have the right to be mad for what this guy did." No one spoke. As he stared into his sister's tear stained eyes he saw a fear showing through. He felt the muscles in her arms stiffen and as he looked down he saw slight tremble in her hand.

"Let go of me." She said barely above a whisper. He her starting to chew on her bottom lip as he let go of her and slowly backed away.

"I'm sorry." Was all he said as he all but ran to the door and out. Lynn hung her head in sadness. She wished now that almost everything said could be taken back. She had hoped to find her brother one day but never thought about what she would say or do if she ever found.

"The alcohol certainly didn't help." She said to herself.

"Talking to yourself there." Spot said trying to break the tension. She light laugh as she tried to picture in her head what the two arguing looked like. Lynn looked at Spot as he sat there slouched in the chair. One foot resting on the other leg's knee and his arms closed.

"You know, it wasn't-" Spot started saying.

"I know, it wasn't his fault what happened to me." She cut him off. He looked at her because for the first time in history a girl had cut him off and finished his exact sentence. "I was mad and lately I have been having all these questions that include why and what ifs. I'll let him cool down a bit and talk to him in a bit." She looked around noticing there was no one else.

"Baby and Dutchy are in the washroom and Angel and Heav are sleeping in the boy's room." Spot said noticing her questioning look around the room.

"I wouldn't blame them. Its gotta be late."

"Almost 1." Spot said. "Look I'm going to bed. Most likely your brother is up on the roof. And just so you know, the moment he found out you were living here he came. He practically ran the whole way here." He got and left. Lynn sat there for a few moments trying to re-gather her thoughts. She knew she couldn't blame her brother for anything that happened to her.

"I guess the sooner the better." She said to herself as she got up and made her way to the roof.

* * *

I want to thank you all who reviewed! Hopefully I will be able to get the next chapter out soon. I have been very good to make sure I had at least one more chapter written before updating but this one took a lot of time since it was her first time seeing her brother since he left.

Mayarin- Thank you for your review. I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

TheFlyingSeal- I was rereading it and I was so into I was like why don't they kiss! I forgot I'm the author haha. And those interuptions do make for some funny things to be said and happen!

mo and rocky- We'll have to see what happens with Race and Lynn. :) Unfortunately all good things must come to end sometimes.

Ealasaid Una- Both Lynn and Race are very confused right now. They both have had events happened to them that makes them both hide their feelings and makes them think.


	11. She likes you

OK, so I'm sorry to those who are actually reading the story. I did write this back in in August but I have moved with my husband, tried to find a job, found one, worked a lot, wrote and forgot to update. I did actually finish the next chapter and was about to upload it when I remembered when I didn't do this one. Well its up. The next chapter is up when I finish the one after. I like to stay ahead ;) I do not own any of the newsies that is from the movie.

Chapter 10: She likes you

He paced around the roof for a bit, hitting or kicking the walls in random spurts of anger. Shade could the sound of the almost melted snow crush beneath his shoes but the cold couldn't touch his skin. He was too angry with what he learned about his sister. How anyone could do that to her he had no clue. No that was a lie, he knew that there were scum bags out there but he couldn't understand why fate bring her sister to one. His breathing calmed down and his feet slowed to a stop.

"Why? Huh pa, why?" He said quietly looking to the dark sky. He heard the door to the open and saw Lynn poke her head around the door. She closed the door but didn't take a step any closer, she just stood there looking at the ground.

"Please don't anything say yet." Lynn started seeing her breath in the cold night. "Let me just say what I need to say and then we can talk, ok?" Shade gave a slight nod. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to place any blame on you for what happened. Lately I have been sad and then upset when I start thinking about everything and at times can't wrap my head around everything. I feel embarrassed and ashamed and at times wish that it could have been different. But I know it can't and it has been breaking my heart. I feel like I can overcome whatever has occurred and then I am down in the dumps feeling like my life couldn't possibly move on. I'm being pulled into two different directions at once and I feel tired because of it." She took a few steps towards Shade. Watching her breath being released from her mouth as she talked.

"I've been dreaming about being able to find you again but I never actually thought about what I would say to you when I did. When you left, you broke my heart. You left without me. Without your only sister, someone who depended on you to–"

"Lynn-" Shade started saying.

"No please. Let me finish." Lynn said. "Someone who depended on you to help bring in the money every week. You were the only other one who understood what I was going through with her. But I understand you have your reason and I hope that in time you can tell what it is. You're my brother and I hope that we can be as close as we once were. I really do." She sat on the crate closet to her not letting her eyes leave her brother. "I think that is about all I have to say." Neither talked for a couple of minutes as she allowed Shade to gather any thoughts he had.

"Lynn. I don't expect you to understand why I left. But I left because I didn't like what mother was becoming. With all that drinking she done, I thought was going to lead to worst things. I thought that if I left she would realize what she was doing and get her act together. But I can see she see just started focusing her mind on other things." Shade said the last part as he sat down next to her. She gave the smallest chuckle she could allow. "But what I need to know now is what happened since I left."

"I'm afraid that might be a long story." She said crossing her arms around her body to help retain any heat that she had left.

"Lynn, please I need to know." He said wrapping his arm around her.

"Well what I yelled at you was the short version of everything." She started with. From there she told him everything she already had to the others about their mother, Joshua and how she ended up with the newsies.

"Is she alright?" Race quietly asked careful not to wake the others as Spot climbed into the bunk next to his.

"Ya. She's talking to Shade right now." Spot answered as he laid on his back

"I heard her yelling awhile ago." Race said sitting up.

"Race. I'm going to ask you again and I better get an answer." Spot said getting up as well. "Why are you so protective of her? She's not your girl, so what gives huh?"

"You remember Annie. My sister." He said trying to look at much as he could into Spot's eyes with the light little there was. "You remember what happened to her." Spot gave a nod that say he remembered. "When Lynn first came here I knew the same thing happened to her. I could see it in her eyes. I could tell by the way she would act around the other guys. She reminded me so much of Annie I didn't want the same thing to happen to her."

"Well she has Shade now to be her brother. So you're going to need to stop being so protective of her." Spot said laying back down. "Well good night." Race watched Spot waiting for any kind of movement or talking that might suggest he was still awake.

"Exactly she has her brother now." When Shade and Spot came over that night they wouldn't let anyone why they were there. Shade just kept asking if Lynn was there. It wasn't until she came back home that any of them knew what their relation was but when you put them side-by-side it was obvious. His stomach ached with the feeling he never knew before. It felt as if his insides were being pulled out because no one allowed him to help Lynn. The empty feeling he had when Annie died was back again because that meant Lynn was now out of his life.

"Jack told me you found your brother." Sarah said two days later at work. "Spot's second, Shade."

"Ya. Who would have thought." Lynn said working on the mending that was left for her.

"But what why didn't you see him the last time you went to Brooklyn?" Sarah asked. It was just a week since she met Spot for the first time with Race.

"I actually wondered the same thing. He said he was probably still selling or on some tasks for Spot." Lynn said with a shrug.

"How's Race taking it?" Sarah asked sorting through some thread and trying to find the exact color as the skirt she was holding.

"What do you mean how is Race taking it?"

"You know what I mean Lynn. Race is pretty protective of you." Sarah said.

"I know." Lynn said "I didn't see him at all yesterday. He left in the morning to sell his papes and didn't come back till everyone was going to bed." Neither spoke the rest of the morning as everyone focused on their work.

The two girls were just a few shops away from work when Lynn stopped Sarah with a hand on her arm.

"Sarah, I need to ask you this so please don't get mad at me. You know I just care." Lynn said. "But what's going with you and Jack?" She waited as Sarah thought of what to say.

"Nothing is happening between us. That's just it. I try to be nice and have a nice time with him whenever we're together but we're never alone now. The only time I see him is when we're with the others and even then he acts if I don't exist. He's just not being man enough to break up with me." The tears staying at the brim of her eyes.

"Sarah, why don't _you_ just break up with Jack." Lynn suggested. "You don't have to wait for him to do it. You can. If you're miserable in this relationship, end it. Learn from my mistake." Sarah didn't say anything. "Please Sarah. Think about it. You should deserve to be happy." Her friend still didn't say anything but she looked away as if she was thinking about what Lynn said. "Come on. Lunch is just about done."

"Have you heard?" Baby said running into the room jumping on Lynn's bed that Thursday.

"No." Lynn said focusing on her embroidery.

"Pulitzer and Hurst are throwing the newsies a Christmas Party on Christmas Eve at Medda's!" She squealed.

"What? Next Thursday?" she asked as Heav and Angel walked in.

"Ya. Apparently the big shots are just trying to look like they're playing nice with us after all the commotion we caused at the strike." Heav said emptying her pockets.

"After the boys found out they started racing all over the city to find dates." Angel said getting comfortable on her bed.

"I could only guess who asked you Baby." Lynn said chuckle.

"O you stop it." Baby said lightly swatting her hand at her.

"Hey!" Lynn laughed even more.

"You should ask Angel who asked her." Baby said giving her friend a mischievous smile while Angel stared daggers at her.

"Who?" Heavy asked taking her shoes and getting ready for bed.

"Baby you just know how to open your big mouth." Angel said throwing her pillow at her friend.

"Well who asked?" Heavy repeated. Angel looked at her for a second before replying.

"Pie Eater." She said while a slight pink hue pricked at her cheeks.

"Well you'll have a good time." Lynn said trying to save her from embarrassment.

"So who do you want to go with?" Baby said turning to Lynn.

"Ah, I don't think anyone." She said becoming interested in her embroidery once again.

"O come on. There's got to be someone." Baby said. "What about Race?"

"What about him." Still not looking up.

"What if Race asked you to the party?" Baby asked.

"He's not. We're just friends. And I bet he would want to go with someone he likes." Lynn said still refused to look up. It had been a week since they almost kissed and almost a week since they lasted talked. It seemed as if Race was a avoiding her. He always left before but they would always see each other after work. But lately he wouldn't come home until bedtime and that left no time to talk to him.

"Well what about what happened when we walked in on you to last week." Angel pointed out.

"Nothing happened last week." Lynn acted as if she didn't know.

"Ok. _Almost_ happened last week. And don't deny that there wasn't something. We aren't blind." Angel said.

"Fine. We _almost _kissed but that doesn't mean anything. We haven't talked in nearly a week. I don't think he feels the same way." After she said the last part she knew she slipped.

"Wait! You don't think he feels the same way?" Baby exclaimed. "So you admit. You have feelings for him." All eyes were now on Lynn. There was no way to get out of this one.

"Yes. I like Race." She said putting down her work. "But I don't think he feels the same way. So can we let it go."

"Lynn. I hate to break it to you but you're blind." Heav said something for the first time. "The boy is always at your side. He worries about you and everyone can see the way he looks at you. You should have seen the way he was acting when you passed out last weekend."

"Well, like I already said we haven't talked in nearly a week, so whatever feeling had has obviously passed." Lynn said as she gathered up her things and put them away. "So now if you don't mind I'm going to bed." And with that she lifted up her covers, forcing Baby up as well, and slipped under them. The three girl newsies just looked at each other. Angel and Baby got ready for a bed and no one talked for the rest of the night.

"Excuse me Racetrack Higgins, but what the hell is wrong with you?" Race heard startling him from behind as he walked along the streets.

"What?" Race asked turning around seeing Baby.

"I'm asking you what the hell is wrong with you? We barely have seen you at all this entire week and I talked to Lynn a couple nights ago and she said that she hasn't talked since last weekend. So I'm asking you what the hell is wrong?" Baby asked as they stood in the middle of the sidewalk. Barely anyone was left on the streets as dusk approached the city.

"Nothings wrong." He said folding his arms across his chest.

"O come on. Everyone sees you've been acting weird. And you've been acting weird since Spot and Shade came by." She said getting closer to her friend. "I'm your friend Race. I care about you and I care about Lynn. I can see the hurt in your eyes every time she hears your name because you for some reason have been ignoring her."

"I ain't ignoring." He said grabbing a cigarette from his vest pocket and tried looking for a match.

"Then what do you call it?" Baby asked. He looked at his friend and decided to come clean.

"Fine." Taking the cigarette and putting it back in his pocket. "Lynn don't need me anymore. She's got Shade now, her _brother_, to take care of her now. She don't need me."

"Race, she doesn't need someone to take care of her. She needs a friend and she thought you were her friend. She thought you could be something more than a friend but if you can't see that then you don't deserve her."

"Baby what are you talking about?" Race was confused.

"Lynn, your friend. She likes you. Do I have to spell it out for you?" Baby said getting frustrated. "Here is a girl who likes you for whatever reason. And you're being an ass to her. So I am going to ask and you better be straight with me." Race never saw this side of Baby, she was always so bubbly and never swore. "Do you like Lynn?"

"Yes Baby. I have strong feelings for her." Race said starting the feel the light touch of snowfall. "Come on let's get back before they send a search party for us." The two walked back home and the whole way Baby tried to convince Race to ask Lynn to the party. As they got there, Baby headed off to find Dutchy in the Boy's room. Race knew exactly where she would be. He poked his head around the doorframe and saw her right where he knew she would be. He smiled to himself as more than a few strands escaped her ribbon and fell to the front of her face forcing her to push them behind her ears. He could see her lightly scrunch her nose as she tried to get pass a stitch that was giving her trouble.

"Giving you trouble?" Race asked as he entered the room and headed to her bed. Her head popped up at the sound of the familiar voice.

"Race." She said putting down her work. "How are you?"

"Doing just fine." He said sitting next to her. He could see the look of hurt on her face when she looked away. "I think I owe you an apology for this past week. When you found your brother last week I didn't think you would need me anymore because you had Shade now."

"Race, you're one of my best friends. Of course I need you even if Shade is around now." Lynn said grabbing his hand in hers.

"Well, I'm sorry for being a jerk this past week." Race said.

"Its fine. All you have to do is promise that you'll be around from now on." She gave him a big smile.

"Yes." He said. "There was also something else. Well I don't know if you heard but I doubt Baby could keep her mouth shut about it. But Pulitzer and Hurst are throwing a party next week for us. And I wanted to see if you would like to go with me." Race could feel the sweat pricking at the back of neck from the nerves.

"I'd like that." She responded trying to contain her smile. And when she couldn't contain herself anymore she threw her arm around Race's neck and hugged him for a good minute. When the both pulled away they still only inches apart. Lynn could feel the heat in her cheeks rise as Race slowly leaned in. His lips felt soft, telling her that there was no pressure to kiss him. When she didn't pull away he deepened the kiss slightly. He pulled away as he heard giggling from behind him and looked over his shoulder. The three newsgirls have their head poking around the door frame watching the two.

"Do you mind?" He said as three continued to laugh at the couple.

"Nope." Was all they said. Race felt Lynn put her face into his to neck to hide and he could definitely feel the heat on her cheeks increase.

* * *

Lynn is going really through the emotions of being of victim of abuse, I know it's not in order of what "the websites" says but I'm really based on experiences and how people deal with the emotions of abuse and letting people in on it.


	12. The Party

**I'm sorry. I had basically the whole chapter written at the time I last updated but decided it wasn't good enough to put up. But then of course my computer crashes I only had about half of what I wrote on my external hard drive. Which is fine because this one turned out better than what I previously wrote! Plus being married and having a full time job doesn't help much with my free time for writing. :) But I am determined to finish this thing, no matter how long it takes! Thank you to those who commented before hand and sorry I have no individual shout outs this time but will next chapter! **

Chapter 11: The Party

The week leading up to party Race and Lynn hung out every moment they could. He would stop by to see her during lunch, pick her up when she was done, she would sit next to him as he played poker and both would steal a kiss whenever they got the chance.

Manhattan was the first borough for the party. The girls looked around and noticed the details Medda's staff spent days to prepare. Wreaths hung on the banisters and railings and each doorway decorated with mistletoe. A Christmas tree in nearly every corner hung with tinsel and ornaments made of glass. The bartenders and waiters were just finishing up there displays of drinks and sweets for the party goers. As Manhattan got the best tables in the house, Queens and Bronx arrived, with Brooklyn being fashionably late as always. Race didn't waste anytime pulling out the cards to play poker with table mates; Jack and Sarah, David, Pie Eater and Angel, Dutchy and Baby, Spot and Connie, Shade and Beth, Blink and Heav, Mush and of course Lynn.

The place was filled with music as the small orchestra played some lively tunes and everyone was forgetting any troubles they had until Angel stopped something the rest of the group didn't see.

"Jack, Harlem's here." She announced preparing herself for whatever was needed.

"Don't worry." Jack said and all the girls looked towards the leader.

"We have an agreement for tonight. Harlem stays away from Brooklyn and Manhattan and we stay away from them." Spot said, finishing his drink.

"When did this happen?" Heav asked angered a bit she wasn't brought in on this.

"Don't worry about it." was all Jack said as the crowd began to cheer because of Medea's entrance on to the stage.

"I'm going to get another drink you want one Race?" Lynn asked getting up followed by Angel and Baby.

"Ya." He said as his touch lingered a bit on her arm. The two smaller girls followed Angel as she guided them through the crowd to the bar.

"So how is going with Pie Eater. You seem to be hitting it off?" Baby asked as she picked up a couple drinks.

"Ya I don't know." was all Angel said while taking a drink.

"What do you mean you don't know!" Baby exclaimed. "He's a good looking guy. What more could you want!"

"I think we're are better off friends." she said taking another sip. "Come on let's get back to the guys." She took off taking the same path as before. Lynn held her two drinks looking down to make sure she wasn't stepping on any unwanted glasses or food discarded on the floor. But she didn't get by two steps away when a pair of feet stopped her in her path. She looked up expecting a Manhattan newsie but was greeted with a face she wished she never would see again.

"Well, well. How's it going Lynn?" Johnny said taking a step forward to ensure her back was against the bar.

"Fine." was all she could manage to say as her throat started to tighten up.

"Who are you here with?" He asked as he took the drinks from her hands and placed them directly behind her on the bar. She couldn't answer.

"I thought Lynn was with you?" Race stated as the two girls arrived.

"Duh, she did. You saw her come with us." Baby said.

"Well where is she?" Race asked as Angel and Baby came up and placed their drinks down.

"Right behind us silly." Baby said taking her seat.

"No she's not." He said looking around in case she just coming up from behind. The two other girls looked around as well.

"Well she was right behind us." Angel said. Shade stood nearly knocking off Beth who was literally in his lap and tried to look over the heads of the others. But to no avail he couldn't see his sister's blond hair so he stood on the chair to get some higher ground. After a few seconds he stopped her.

"Johnny's cornered her by the bar." Shade said almost leaping off to get to his sister. Spot, Jack and Race not too far behind, along with the rest of the table.

"O come on. You know you could tell me." Johnny running his hand up her arms. Which seemed to be frozen in place by her side.

"I'm here with Race." she quietly whispered.

"With Race?" Johnny said. "How is it you ended up in Manhattan I wonder. But I guess it shouldn't be a surprise they are known for helping a damsel in distress." She tried to stare at anything but his eyes, green with a slight shade of gray around the edge in them, seemed to draw her to them in a very wrong way. In a way she knew that instinct said not to trust this guy in anyway. "Well you know you belong with someone else. So I think I'll just bring you back there." He said as he grabbed her upper arms and pulled her towards him.

"NO." was all she could manage. Her body still not responding to any instinct it should have.

"O come on you know you belong with Joshua. How do you think you ended up on the streets. You couldn't just do what you needed just for mother but you had to get selfish. We knew if you had only you and nothing to provide yourself with you would need to accept the help of someone." He could see the confusion in her eyes. "How do you think your mother found out you broke up with him, huh?"

"What?" came out as a short breath.

"We told your mother you broke up with Joshua. Or I did anyways all right after she practically begged me to bed her. We knew she would throw you out because if you didn't marry him, there would be no money support her. We were just hoping we would find you first before you had the chance accepting anyone else's help." Johnny said leaning closer to her face. She tried not believe what he said but it all made sense on how her mother found out. He leaned even further as could feel his breath on her own lips. "Now ditch Manhattan and come with me. You know we'll take care of you." His lips just brushing hers. Before he could put more pressure onto her lips, Lynn felt her arm being tugged away. He body followed and slammed into another hard body. She looked up to the other face only to see an angry brother, while Spot and Jack stepped in between her and Johnny.

"What are you doing Johnny." Spot said coldly as the other leader stabilized himself. The others arrived in time to hear Harlem's answer.

"Just catching up with an old friend." Johnny smirked.

"Remember our agreement Johnny. You stay away from us and we'll stay away from you." Jack said crossing his arms.

"But she's not one of you."

"She belong with Manhattan." Race said trying to keep his cool.

"I think you got that wrong Race. She belong with someone but that's not you." Johnny sneered at him. He always hated that gambling newsies. "And that whore knows who she belongs to."

"My sister is no whore." Shade nearly yelled at him pulling her in closer as if he was trying to prevent her from hearing anything. And at the name Lynn could see the other girls look at her, so she buried her face into his side.

"Sister!" Johnny was now amused. "O this will be fun. The mighty second in command has a whore for a sister."

"Stop calling her that!" Shade yelled. Out of all that was going on no amount of yelling was attracting any of the other patrons from having a good time.

"Fine." Johnny simply said. "But you might want to watch out for her." Implying that this wasn't just a fight for territory but this included the fight for her. "You know its funny want happens to girls like her. One day they're there for any service for a willing gentlemen, the next day, they're gone. Their throats cut and body lying in some alleyway."

"Get out of here Johnny." Spot said with no emotion in his voice or on his face.

"O don't worry. I was just leaving." He looked at Lynn and winked at her when they made eye contact. "See you soon Sweetheart." With that he walked away, everyone watching him as he made his way to the front and out to the lobby. As soon as he was out of sight all eyes turned to her. She didn't want to explain what just happened. She couldn't because she was still trying to process it herself. Lynn could feel the tears coming over the brim of her eyes and slowly making a path down the side of her cheek and off. She pulled away from Shade as her feet started to lead her in a run but her arm again was grabbed onto by a hand. As she turned around everyone could see a fear in her eyes that no one saw before.

"Don't touch me!" Lynn said as she faced Race. The questioning and hurt clearly visible in his eyes and tugged her arm free. She didn't mean to hurt him, her body was only reacting the way it knew how. _"Of course my body knows how to work now."_ She thought. "I'm sorry Race. But just don't. Don't follow me." She backed away and turned to start running to the lobby.

"Lynn!" Shade called out. And started after her. "Beth stay with Connie." he said passing by his date.

"I better go after them. Who knows if Johnny is lurking about out there." Spot said. "Sorry Babe." He said kissing Connie on the cheek. "Sly will get you home." With that he went after his second.

"How does Lynn know Johnny?" Heav finally asked after Connie and Beth left the group, angry their dates had left them.

"I think he's friends with her ex boyfriend." Race finally said. Jack looked at him wondering when this all came about.

"Ex boyfriend?" Baby asked. "When was she with this ex-Oww!" Dutchy had slightly elbowed her, telling her it wasn't her concern. "She's our friend we deserve to know. Especially if Johnny knows her."

"And what's with him calling her a whore?" Angel stepped in. "How did you guys come upon her?" Everyone who didn't already know or question before was wondering now.

"You all know just as well I do, everyone has their story. And just like all us newsies we don't have to tell anyone. If she doesn't want to say that's up to her." Jack said picking few drinks and handing one to Sarah. "Now if she doesn't want to tell I don't want to hear from her or anyone that you girls are pushing her to." With that he walked away with Sarah, David, Pie Eater, Blink and Mush following him back to their table.

"That's stupid, she's our friend." Baby whined looking at Angel and Heav.

"You girls heard Jack and if you are smart you'll let it be if she doesn't want to say." Dutchy said looking at all three girls to make sure he got his point across. "Let's enjoy the rest of the night before its over." He said kissing Baby's cheek and leading her back to the table. Angel followed the couple back but Heaven stayed glaring at Race.

"What's going on Race?" She questioned him.

"I don't know." he said honestly. His eyes hadn't left the front entrance since Lynn ran out of them.

"Don't give me that shit Race. What's happening with her?" She pushed harder this time.

"Give it up Heaven. You're in charge of the girls, ya. But only the girls who are newsies. And we all know Lynn ain't a newsie." Race stated, still hurt by what Lynn had said to him. Deep down he knew she didn't mean it but his heart was feeling as if a splinter had just found its way into it.

She could feel the cold air constricting her airway as she ran in the near the freezing weather. She could hear footsteps not far behind her but she didn't want to stop. She had to get far away from there and just to try piece together what just happened. She needed to get to place where she could think clearly. The Brooklyn Bridge. Just seeing the water and the way it ran from one end to the other, seeming as if there was no beginning and no ending, always calmed her. She reached the entrance was only able to get a couple feet before her legs gave out from exhaustion. She could see her breathe as it shake heavily from inside her.

"Lynn!" she could hear his voice coming closer. "Lynn. Why didn't you stop?" He asked as he neared and kneeled down next to her. She couldn't answer. "What did Johnny say to? And how do you know him?" She knew he was Harlem's leader but had no clue about the war that was looming between Harlem and Brooklyn.

"Johnny was the guy who influenced Joshua. He's the guy who changed him once they became friends." she said gathering her knees up to her chest, not caring about the cold going through her skirts.

"He knows everything that went on for the past couple of years then, huh?" Shade said more as statement, just as Spot caught up to them. Shade sent him a quick look, both knowing this wasn't going to be good for either Manhattan and now most certainly for Brooklyn. She nodded her head a bit. "What did he say to you?"

"He trapped me right after we got the drinks. He asked me who I was with and told him Race. He told me that I didn't belong with him but with them. I didn't know what he meant but then he told me how mom found out I broke up with Joshua." The tears poured from her eyes but stung her cheeks as the coldness nearly froze them. "Said they figured if mom knew we weren't together they figured they kick me out. So Johnny told her right after he slept with her. Said mom begged him to. They thought that if mom kicked me out they might be able to find me and they would take me in." Shade clutched his fists as he listened to every word she said. When she finished he didn't know how he should react, all he could think to do was stand and bang at the railing behind her.

"Shade." Spot said in a sharp but quite and commanding tone and at once Shade stopped. "Is that all he said to you?" Stepping towards her. He kneeled besides her. She nodded her head.

"Besides what you he said in front of everyone. Ya, that's all." Lynn was starting to calm down as she wiped her cheeks. All she wanted was her life to be normal but every time she thought she might something else pops up. "Do you really think he would do it?"

"Do what?" Shade asked, obviously forgetting about Johnny's last comment.

"There's no telling. Johnny is a lot of talk and a man of little action sometimes. And sometimes he's all action." Spot was being straightforward. "But yo won't be going any where by yourself. One of Manhattan will have to be with you always."

'No they have jobs to do, money to make. And they aren't involved in my problems, I can't ask them to do that over a threat to me." She protested.

"This is more than a threat to you." Shade spoke.

"What do you mean of course its a threat. A threat to me, to try and harm _me _because Joshua wants me_." _She tried to stress.

"No its not." Shade kneeled on the other side of her. "Johnny has been trying to start a war with Brooklyn for a while now. Its a threat to you but he's going to harm you and use that as way to get to Brooklyn and Manhattan as well." Finally realizing this wasn't just about her she knew things were going to change.

"So what happens now?" She asked knowing she wasn't going to like what happened from her on out. At least until this all ended.

**Let me know what you thought! I appreciate any sort of help that could help me make the story better. Sorry for any grammar or spelling errors, I sort of updated without reading that last little bit. **


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